A vote to rebuild Britain

Aware of apathy for Labour as the Conservatives are swept out of office, the new prime minister must deliver growthas he balances a tricky coalition of interests

- Jonathan Freedland

THE HAND OF HISTORY rested only lightly on their shoulders, but they could not shake it off completely. The 200 or so volunteers, activists and campaign aides who lined Downing Street to see in a new, Labour prime minister knew they were there, in part, as extras in a historical re-enactment. With their union flags and hoarse cheers, they were replaying a scene etched in Labour folk memory: that glad, confident morning in May 1997 when Tony Blair made his way to No 10 through a throng of supporters having won a landslide victory.

The memory was inevitable, and not only because the overall majority won by Keir Starmer is uncannily close to the 179-seat number that put Blair in the record books. The echo of 1997 struck because everyone present – starting with Starmer himself – understood that what the country had just witnessed was an event of vanishing rarity.

Until the early hours of last Friday morning, Labour had only twice before ousted an incumbent government by winning a clear, viable majority of its own: 1997 and 1945. That is it. ( Harold Wilson ejected the Tories in 1964 and 1974 , but he did it with majorities you could count on one hand.)

When it comes to general elections, Labour’s default setting is to lose, lose and lose again. Not for nothing were Labour families urging their teenagers to stay up late last Thursday night , explaining that what was about to unfold in July 2024 was a once- or twice-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

No wonder so many Labour staffers wanted their babies or children with them as they waited for Starmer in Downing Street: they assume the photos of that event will become historical artefacts.

Nor was it a surprise that there was such a release of emotion in the crowd once Starmer had finished speaking and walked through that polished black door.